Rutendo Chirume

Despite its centrality to economic growth and development, the mining sector has historically been a gender non-inclusive sector in which women play very marginal roles, research has shown.

In a typical mining environment, women often occupy some roles in administration at best, but they are dominant in menial non-skilled work such as washing and cooking.

The employment gap is more severe in developing countries where the proportion of women unable to find work is 24 percent compared to 16.6 percent for men.

These statistics are contained a research document titled ‘Ensuring Decent Work for Women in Africa’s Mining Industry’ which was published in 2022 by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

On its part, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) in 2020 published research findings indicating that only 5 – 10 percent of the mining workforce was female; the lowest of any major industry.

Titled ‘Barriers to Women’s Full Participation in Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Sector‘, the report highlights the lack of gender diversity in the whole mining industry.

Sharai Tembo of Ward 22 in Bikita said she gave up on efforts to secure employment at Bikita Minerals after a foreman asked her to pay a bribe.

“He asked me to bring US$150 in order to secure a job but I did not have the money so I gave up. Before that, I had been there several times looking for work but with no success,” said Tembo.

She said she had since realized that job opportunities were fewer for women who lack the requisite networks to influence the recruitment process.

“It is hard for us as women of this community to get jobs because we have to compete for the few available openings for unskilled people. And those openings are usually controlled by unscrupulous men who demand bribes or sex for jobs. Moreover, we cannot compete for technical and managerial jobs because we do not have the education and skills,” she said.

This view was shared by another local woman Kostina Gwapera who said women at the mine dominated in menial roles including cleaning.

“It is usually in cleaning work that women find most of the opportunities but this is usually casual work without any job security. Machine operating and driving jobs are men’s jobs,” said Gwapera of Murape Village.

Economic Justice for Women Project (EJWP) Zimbabwe Executive Director Margaret Mutsamvi said the sprouting of new mineral ventures in rural areas had disrupted traditional economic routines and made the average rural woman worse off.

“The commencement of mining operations in rural areas like Bikita and Mberengwa often disrupts a great deal of subsistence agriculture-based livelihoods because some of the land is taken away. Subsistence agriculture is a sector in which women dominate, and for it to be disrupted without equitable distribution of the opportunities presented by the new industry is unjust,” said Mutsamvi.

She said corruption, sexual harassment and gender insensitive recruitment practices were among factors keeping away women from mining spaces

“When women get employment, it is often in low-end areas like cooking, washing and cleaning where many of them suffer exploitation and sexual harassment,” said Mutsamvi.

Bikita Minerals spokesperson Collen Nikisi said the company employed ran on a recruitment policy that sets aside 20 percent of the openings to women.

“Bikita Minerals is deeply committed to gender mainstreaming, which is to intentionally advance women in the workplace, and we have established plans and policies designed to give effect to this in a sustainable way.

“In parallel, our skills development programmes aim to create a pipeline of young diverse talent, with specific focus on increasing women representation, and succession planning to ensure advancement within the various career paths. At present we employ 20 percent women of diverse skills that is metallurgists, geologists, engineers, miners and general hands,” said Nikisi.

He would, however, not reveal exact numbers of women employed by the lithium miner out of the estimated 1500 employees working directly for the company, and for contracted companies.